Monday, November 28, 2005

The darkness and the dawn

While reading David McCullough's 1776, I inevitably got the chance to refresh my recollection of Thomas Paine's The Crisis. Although written 230 years ago, I think the opening lines are timeless, and apply with remarkable accuracy to current events:

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

I especially like this line: "The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country." Doesn't that remind you of the Democrats who enthusiastically supported the war when it looked like a politically smart move, and are now frantically scrabbling to escape the war because it's actually difficult and dangerous? Our troops understand the more important part of Paine's writing, so I'll repeat it again here for my own pleasure:

Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

Yes, there have been a lot of mistakes in how the Iraq war was conducted. Yes, the administration, while engaged in what I believe are appropriate geopolitical actions, has frequently stumbled or faltered. All true. But no war is an exercise in perfection, and no political process (absent a one person tyranny) just flows smoothly, unhindered by doubt or criticism. I don't think these errors change the fact, though, that Bush's overwhelming belief in freedom over tyranny is establishing him as the midwife of a new (and, I hope, better) world order.